Any information on fireman Thomas Kerr

[Allan Clarke]

Hi,

This is a bit of a long shot. My mother was from Liverpool and I always heard that she lost an uncle on the Titanic. She referred to him as a stoker and though she could not remember his name, she told me it sounded like Curry. The only lead I had was that he married Kate Jennings a few months before the disaster. Kate was my grandmother's sister and my mother was well versed in the tragedy.
Recently, my father told me that he thought his name was Kerr. I checked out the sign-on sheets and found a Thomas Kerr, age 26, from Liverpool. Has anyone come across any information on Mr. Kerr? Are there any references to monies paid out to widows of the Titanic disaster that might help me in my quest to find out about my great uncle?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

All the Best,
Allan

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Allan, just a small point but the book 'Titanic Voices' mentions that 'stoker Tommy Kerr' was brother-in-law of James Crimmins, also a stoker, who survived.

 

[Phillip Gowan]

Also, his wife's name was Johannah.

Phil G.

 

[Brian Meister]

Hello Allan,

Thomas Kerr, as Phil Gowan has stated,
had been married to Johanna, who is listed as
his wife in the Mansion House Relief Fund
booklet that I have. He had a sister and
a child, both named Sydney.
I am not sure about how the Kate Jennings
connection fits in.

 

[Colleen Collier]

Hi Allen. Sometimes the longshots are the only leads that pay off.
A cousins maiden name was the only lead that finally yielded the bulk of my husbands family line.
I only wish I had "Titanic People" to help me!

Luck to you! Please let us know when you do find out!

 

[Allan Clarke]

Hi,
Thank you for the information. My mother said that as a little girl she remembered the story of her lost uncle because of two particular accounts. One, was that he had promised to bring his new sister-in-law, mom's mother, a bird in a cage from New York when he returned. What the story is behind that elludes me. The other thing that kept coming up was the family politics. Apparently, not many people cared much for the fellow that Kate later married, and it was common place to hear about "poor Kate, who lost that wonderful man on the Titanic, only to end up with so and so!" What I am left with from my mother and her sister is an absolute certainty that this is what happened. But I have no last name for the stoker. Outside of going to Liverpool and checking the marriage records to find out who married Kate Jennings in late 1911 or early 1912 in All Soul's Church, I am going to be frustrated in nailing down who this poor chap was. C'est la vie!
All the Best,
Allan

 

[Bob Godfrey]

Allan, I hope you'll keep trying - it's hard work and can be frustrating, but there's great satisfaction in getting a result! There are online sources for checking parish records but it won't be easy if you know the name of only one of the two parties involved in a wedding. It might help you to know that there was only one Kate Jennings (and no Katherines) born in Liverpool who could be aged in the likely range 16-32 in 1912. This Kate was born in March 1891, but I'm afraid that's all I can tell you about her.

Allowing for the vagaries of memory, The 'fireman' could possibly be one of the Kearl brothers - one was a trimmer, the other a greaser. Both were Hampshire men, but could have been lodged in Liverpool at some point. On the other hand, Mr Kerr could have signed on under a different name, as was quite common in those days.

 

[Bob Godfrey]

The marriage registers for All Souls Church, Collingwood St are now held at the Liverpool Record Office. These are available to the public, or (for a fee) the staff will search for the info you need. The LRO web page, with contact email address, is here:

http://www.movinghere.org.uk/about/lro.htm

You might be able to arrange a trade discount! Please keep us informed of developments.

 

[David Huffaker]

I know this original posting was a long time ago but Johanna Crimmins married Thomas Kerr in 1909 - Southampton. (BMD index)